Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, recently presented a digital platform for additive manufacturing at Formnext. The platform, designed by DSM and partners as part of the company’s I AM Tomorrow Challenge, seeks to fill a gap in the additive manufacturing value chain. Now, DSM is looking to attract manufacturers from a range of sectors to help fine-tune and develop the platform in the coming months.
DSM’s I AM Tomorrow Challenge officially launched in June 2019. In close collaboration with Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence and Ultimaker, DSM extended an invitation to start-ups across the globe to enroll in a unique accelerator program. Out of 74 applicants, six start-ups were selected to help with the development of a new, digital workflow platform: Authentise, Additive Flow, Ecochain, iPoint, Neural Concept, and nTopology. The companies have joined forces over the past three months to co-develop a digital additive manufacturing workflow that translates customers’ needs into manufacturing solutions.
The purpose of this digital platform is to leverage application, material, and processing knowledge to inform manufacturers about the performance, sustainability, and economic viability of additive manufacturing for their specific applications. The companies have focused on a workflow that supports manufacturers in the screening, design, and simulation steps prior to the actual printing of a part. In doing so, the I AM Tomorrow Challenge seeks to fill in a gap that currently exists in the additive manufacturing value chain.
Among other elements the workflow encompasses a material center, topology optimization, and 3D printing performance and process simulation. It actively draws on the strengths of the participating start-ups, as well as on the accumulated 3D printing expertise of DSM, Ultimaker, and Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.
The current iteration of the digital workflow was created in collaboration with Royal HaskoningDHV. The Dutch-based engineering consultancy acted as a lead customer for the six start-ups as they developed the platform. In the coming months, DSM will extend a hand to the manufacturing industry to include new partners in the development and validation of its digital workflow platform. DSM aims to co-create a digital platform that is tailored to the needs of businesses of varying sizes, in different sectors, and using different manufacturing processes.
DSM
 www.dsm.com
